The issue is the "oldest commissioned warship."
HMS VICTORY is it, having been ordered as one of three "ships of the battle
line" (later "battleship") in 1758 and launched in 1765, being in continual
commissioned service since that time except for occasional periods of
decommissioning for rebuilding and maintenance. Most famous for the Battle
of Trafalgar and as Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson's flagship in 1805.
Currently docked at Portsmouth, England.
USS CONSTITUTION, on the other hand, was ordered as one of six frigates by
act of Congress in 1794, launched in 1797 and commissioned in 1798. Named
"Old Ironsides" because cannon balls bounced off of her tremendously thick
oak hull, she currently is docked at the old Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston
along with USS CASSIN YOUNG (DD-793), a WW II-era FLETCHER-class destroyer.
CONSTITUTION has also been in various periods of commission since her
orignial commissioning. The Navy wanted to sink her as a target in the
1920's, but public sentiment prevailed and she was saved.
A further distinction is that HMS VICTORY is a "ship of the battle line" and
USS CONSTITUTION is a "frigate." VICTORY has about 32 years on CONSTITUTION.
S/F,
Stew Rayfield
Major USMC (Ret)
-----Original Message-----
From: David Yarbrough [mailto:date0620@mindspring.com]
Sent: Monday, July 03, 2000 9:57 PM
To: mil-veh@skylee.com
Subject: Re: [MV] HMS VICTORY and the WASA
How about USS Constitution (Old Ironsides)? She's still an active warship
with the US Navy.
David Yarbrough
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mel Miller" <nourmahal@worldnet.att.net>
To: "Military Vehicles List" <mil-veh@skylee.com>
Sent: Monday, July 03, 2000 2:50 PM
Subject: [MV] HMS VICTORY and the WASA
> A question arose about the oldest warship around. One English poster
> stated that HMS VICTORY is the oldest warship still in commission in the
> world. Then Ron the Frog asked about the WASA, a Swedish warship of the
> seventeenth century which capsized and sank on its maiden voyage.
>
> The short answer is that HMS VICTORY is the oldest warship STILL IN
> COMMISSION, having been in Commission since Nelsons time (except for
> relatively short periods of decomissioning for rebuilds). The concept of
> an eighteenth century warship still being 'In Commisssion" in a modern
> navy admittedly strains credulity, but the Royal Navy (a bastion of
> tradition) could not have picked a more fitting relic to preserve and
> memorialize than Nelsons flagship!
>
> Mel Miller
> M725 X 2
>
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Mon Aug 07 2000 - 22:15:55 PDT